1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mooring systems for boats, particularly to a mooring system which allows for easily releasable coupling of a boat to a dock. The present invention relates still more particularly to such a mooring system for pontoon boats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional mooring systems for boats generally employ a number of dock pilings to which are tied lines that are, in turn, looped onto cleats located on the aft and bow of the the boat. It is well known that this conventional system of mooring boats results in the vessel having a sideways orientation relative to the dock. When wind or wave action becomes strong, there is the ever present danger of the boat being damaged due to repeated sharp impact with the dock. The effects of the wind and waves on pleasure craft become more pronounced with larger surface area of the vessel on which they may act.
These effects are frequently most pronounced on pontoon boats, whose relatively light structure and large surface area make them particularly vulnerable to dock side impact damage caused by waves and wind. A frequent "solution" by owners of pontoon boats has been to moor their boats in open water so that the pontoon boat is able to relatively freely move in response to wind and wave action without the danger of crashing into a dock. Naturally, this involves the inconvenience of not being able to walk directly to the pontoon boat from dry land.
Accordingly, what is needed is a boat mooring system which prevents the possibility of a boat, particularly a pontoon boat, from impacting the dock in response to wind and wave action.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,831 to Hyedolph, dated Mar. 20, 1979, discloses a resilient boat mooring system in which a pair of mooring devices keep the boat away from the dock. Each mooring device is connected with the dock and is spaced from the other. The mooring device is connected to the dock by a coupling rod ending in a ball. The ball fits into a socket of a tubular member having an internal resiliently biased piston. A piston rod connected with the piston terminates in a second socket which connects to a second ball that is integral with a second coupling rod. The second coupling rod is releasably attachable to the boat via a special fitting on the gunwale of the vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,538 to Day, dated Oct. 6, 1987, discloses a mooring system which permits rolling, pitching and slight yawing movements of the boat but not movement of the vessel toward the dock. A mooring arm is hingably attached at one end to the dock, having at its opposite end a ball hitch. The ball hitch releasably connects with a ball attached to the gunwale of the boat. A shock absorber is used to control wave effects. The mooring system may use one mooring arm or a pair of them spaced apart.
The prior art devices do not adequately take into account the enormous forces that can be applied to vessels having large surface areas, such as pontoon boats. In this respect, the fixtures are too small and their anchorages not sufficiently substantial, so that they are subject to being bent or ripped from their supports. An additional drawback of the prior art devices is the fact that a considerable amount of effort is required to operate these mooring systems, making them impractical under many circumstances, including situations involving even slight wave or wind action.
Accordingly, there yet remains a need to devise a watercraft mooring system which can accommodate large surface area boats, such as pontoon boats, against the enormous forces generated by wind and wave action, as well as a simple, reliable connection and release system that recommends its use in a wide range of applications.